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It's Father's day tomorrow, (or maybe yesterday by the time I get this finished) and I need to hook up my three fathers with presents.
Well, I dabble in (amongst other things) steel artwork. I like using reclaimed steel as it is recycling, inexpensive and I get to make some fairly cool stuff! I try to model my animals after the real thing and usually search out a bunch of pictures of the various forms of the animal before building one. Remember this is just a representation, not an anatomically correct model.
These are made from garage door opener chain (same as a bicycle chain, just longer) and some drop off from a metal fabrication shop. I try to collect a box/bag/bucket full of anything I see in quantity. Of course the materials you find will not be identical but the process is the same.
I recommend starting out with the flat one (on the right) and them moving up to the 3D wall climbing model.
Well, I dabble in (amongst other things) steel artwork. I like using reclaimed steel as it is recycling, inexpensive and I get to make some fairly cool stuff! I try to model my animals after the real thing and usually search out a bunch of pictures of the various forms of the animal before building one. Remember this is just a representation, not an anatomically correct model.
These are made from garage door opener chain (same as a bicycle chain, just longer) and some drop off from a metal fabrication shop. I try to collect a box/bag/bucket full of anything I see in quantity. Of course the materials you find will not be identical but the process is the same.
I recommend starting out with the flat one (on the right) and them moving up to the 3D wall climbing model.
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Tools: You will need the following:
A fully functional Brain - Some of these processes are inherently dangerous. Always use the proper safety precautions and don’t work over your head.
Welder’s protective gear (a shade 10 helmet and gloves at a minimum)
A fire suppression device (AKA garden hose)
A welder – I use my trusty, dusty Miller 135 with a 25% CO2 and 75% Argon mix and .030 wire. I greatly prefer MIG (Metallic Inert Gas) over wire feed (flux cored wire) as the splatter is almost nonexistent and I get more steel for the buck.
A good solid work surface (or a cheesy one and an anvil)
A hammer (AKA a Bingy Bangy!)
An assortment of pliers
A grinder (angle grinder of pneumatic grinder – your choice)
Curved forms such as a roll of tape or coffee can or other such roundness
Optional but helpful tools:
Welding magnet(s)
Small punch(s) (starting punch and/or drive pin punch)
An oxygen & acetylene torch (a propane torch will also work for chain this small)
A fully functional Brain - Some of these processes are inherently dangerous. Always use the proper safety precautions and don’t work over your head.
Welder’s protective gear (a shade 10 helmet and gloves at a minimum)
A fire suppression device (AKA garden hose)
A welder – I use my trusty, dusty Miller 135 with a 25% CO2 and 75% Argon mix and .030 wire. I greatly prefer MIG (Metallic Inert Gas) over wire feed (flux cored wire) as the splatter is almost nonexistent and I get more steel for the buck.
A good solid work surface (or a cheesy one and an anvil)
A hammer (AKA a Bingy Bangy!)
An assortment of pliers
A grinder (angle grinder of pneumatic grinder – your choice)
Curved forms such as a roll of tape or coffee can or other such roundness
Optional but helpful tools:
Welding magnet(s)
Small punch(s) (starting punch and/or drive pin punch)
An oxygen & acetylene torch (a propane torch will also work for chain this small)
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I'm also excited to see a "man in a helmet" here -- I just picked up some old Willson screw-in style welding goggles from E-Bay for the dual purposes of a costume piece and making a pair of IR-pass goggles. The seller shipped with them two very old books on arc-welding. One is the second edition of Welding Processes and Power Sources from the 70's and the other is Modern arc Welding procedure and practice from Hobart Trade School. I can't find a date on it, but I'd guess it's from the early 50's.
I've been reading through that one and it's completely fascinating (like any subject, you learn a little and think "That might be fun" then you learn more and realize how many factors go into doing it properly and you emerge with a heightened respect for those who have mastered the craft). It's very outdated, I'm sure , but it talks about the basics of welding and is really an interesting read. It discusses the carbon arc and metallic arc using bare and coated electrodes and there's a section in the back that introduces this new-fangled method called TIG that shows a lot of promise...kinda makes me want to learn to weld. I'll have to see if I can convince my school's shop guru to teach me some.
As for the centipedes...I don't have my bike with me over the summer, but would it be feasible to leave some of the links unwelded to let your centipede be reconfigurable?
As to the arc, well, on the negative end the electrons are leaving the metal with their energy, on the positive end they're slamming into the metal with that energy. As a quick and dirty visualization glossing over the science and not completely accurate, It's like a full-auto machine gun firing on the same spot of a solid steel target. The gun barrel will get warm, even hot, but that spot on the target is soaking up the kinetic energy of each and every bullet thus it'll get hotter faster.
I hope that gives you a good enough rough idea of what's happening, as the full science version is of course longer, and likely to be considered weirder as well. And if anybody here has an equally simple yet more realistic explanation, go for it.